


The Mysterious Case of the Fake Hologram Band

by Black_Dwarf



Category: Highlander: The Series, Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Beta Wanted, Crossover, Gen, JatP characters only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27366175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_Dwarf/pseuds/Black_Dwarf
Summary: Entry for Julie and the Phantoms Appreciation Week (Tumblr),Day 2 - Fanfic Prompt 2 - AU (Crossover in this case).The apparent resurrection of three dead musicians raises some questions. There can be only one answer: these kids are clearly immortal, right?
Comments: 14
Kudos: 29
Collections: JATP Appreciation Week





	The Mysterious Case of the Fake Hologram Band

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yeoyou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeoyou/gifts).



> This isn’t really JatP-centric and I’m really sorry for that. But I kind of liked the idea of other people noticing the group and drawing their own conclusions regarding the hologram explanation and this idea just popped into my head. Crossover with Highlander- The Series, for those of you who might still remember it. This work has not been beta-read so I apologize for any mistakes. Might reformat at some point. For now this is a oneshot.

Adam was sitting outside a small café overlooking the Seine. It was nearing October and most patrons had elected to sit inside. But that was fine by him. He preferred to be left alone. He took another sip of the black coffee that was sitting next to his laptop and continued to scan over the contents of the conspiracy theory website that he had been perusing for the last half hour. Alien abductions...demonic possession..lizard presidents.. hilarious but not what he was looking for. Amidst all the nonsense that the human brain was ready to conjure up in lieu of saner ways to explain the world around them, sometimes things could be hidden that carried more truth than even the conspiracy theorists themselves could imagine. And that was what Adam was trying to find. _Dreading to find_ , if he was entirely honest. 

Then another headline piqued his interest. _Fake Hologram Band - Risen from the Dead?_ The article detailed the apparent resurrection of a group of young musicians who had died in the 90s. The group, _Sunset Curve_ , had lost three members due to a tragic case of food poisoning. _Horrible way to go,_ Adam thought. And he should know. He’d been there himself a couple of times. Now, at least if the article was to be believed, the three dead guys had come back to life to perform music with a teenage girl in a band called _Julie and the Phantoms_. It sounded nonsensical but, and this was what worried Adam, there was photographic evidence which gave more than a little credence to this otherwise insane theory.

So here apparently was a group of young immortals that had decided to be the opposite of careful. Same city, same physical appearance, even a similar music style to the one they’d been known for when they died. They could threaten to expose them all. How had their teacher failed to imbue them with one of the most important rules of immortality? - Whatever you do, keep a low profile. _They probably never had a teacher_ , he mused. But then, how the hell had they survived this long? 

New technology, cameras in every phone and constant surveillance everywhere. It was difficult enough to stay hidden in the 21st century, and that was when you were actually careful. Which this bunch of idiots was clearly not. He’d better hurry to get this situation under control before the group achieved their breakthrough and immortals everywhere would be subject to a witch hunt the likes of which they’d never seen. It was time to call an old friend.

* * *

“Hey Mac. How are you doing?” There was silence on the other end. Then Duncan MacLeod finally spoke up. “Methos? It’s been ages—” 

“It’s been fifteen years, I’d hardly call that ages.” Adam replied. “And I’m going by Adam Bishop now. I’d prefer if you could manage to remember that.” Adam had never been entirely comfortable with how carelessly MacLeod and his friends threw around his actual name. Who knew who might be listening? It was dangerous and pulling off a vanishing act had become increasingly difficult these days. 

“So, what’s wrong? Why are you calling me now?” And then spoken more quietly, “what have you done?” Leave it to MacLeod to always assume the worst where he was concerned. It was totally unfair. And unjustified. _Well mostly_. 

“Nothing! And nothing is wrong per se. But we might have some young immortals on the loose and that could potentially be a risk.” And with that Adam lapsed into a longer explanation of what he’d discovered. MacLeod listened quietly on the other end. Adam had sent him the link to the conspiracy theory website. 

“It says here that they are holograms. Are you sure this is related to our kind?”

MacLeod sounded sceptical. But Adam had already considered all the potential angles. “The band died in 1995. Even if that kind of technology exists now it certainly didn’t back then. And to be able to create holographic images that are that convincing based off of the two or three photographs that do exist of the group is highly improbable. And even if all of that _were_ somehow plausible. That doesn’t explain the voices. I’ve listened to the songs that came out in the 90s and their new stuff. It’s the same guys.” 

On the other end of the line he could hear MacLeod sigh. 

“Fine, what do you suggest?” 

A huge grin spread across Adam’s features. “How do you feel about a road trip, Mac?” 

* * *

When MacLeod picked him up from the airport dusk had begun to settle in. They had decided to take the car cross country from Seacouver to LA. The concert that they would be attending was in five days. So plenty of time for them to get reacquainted first. In truth Adam did agree that it had been far too long since they’d last seen each other. But he would never admit as much to the Highlander. Better keep him guessing as to the nature of their relationship. It kept things interesting. 

“I’m still not sure why we couldn’t have just taken the plane,” MacLeod muttered as he was lifting Adam’s bag into the trunk of his car. 

“I hate flying—” 

“You flew all the way over here from Paris.” MacLeod interrupted and shot him an incredulous look. 

“That’s only because I hate ships even more.” 

MacLeod shook his head in exasperation but he couldn’t help but smile. “It’s good to see you old man. It’s been far too long.” 

* * *

MacLeod threw him a can of beer which Adam caught without even looking and settled down on the couch opposite of him. 

“So what do we know about these young immortals?” he asked. 

Adam was staring at the screen of his laptop. “Looks like they haven’t made an appearance in twenty-five years. Not since they died. Not sure what possessed them to do it now.” 

“And what do you suggest we should do about them?” MacLeod had fixed his eyes on Adam, as if trying to discern his thoughts. 

“Talk to them. Explain the rules of the game. Let them know that there are certain expectations.” 

“And if they won’t listen?” MacLeod had spoken softly but there was a hard edge to his tone. As if the Scot already knew what he was about to say.

“Well, there’s always option number two. Lure them into a dark alley and take care of the problem.” 

“I do hope you’re only joking.” MacLeod muttered, his expression had visibly darkened.

“I realize you suffer from resident boyscout syndrome but we might have to consider all potential scenarios here.”

“Whichever _scenario_ is certainly not going to include finishing off a bunch of kids!” 

“They are in their mid-40s now. I’d hardly call them kids.” But that remark only earned him another one of MacLeod’s death glares. The one that Duncan seemed to reserve specifically for him. “Where’s your sense of humor MacLeod?” 

“Yeah well, I always have trouble finding it whenever you’re around.” 

At the acerbic tone in his voice Adam felt a slight pang of regret. There used to be trust and maybe perhaps for a while something else had been a possibility. Or maybe that had only ever been wishful thinking on his part. Either way any possibility had vanished once Duncan had a glimpse behind his carefully cultivated _I‘m just a guy_ \- veneer. After he‘d seen the darkness that lurked beneath. And there was no way now to go back to what once was. He knew that. Not after his past had come back to haunt them both. He looked up from his silent contemplation and noticed that MacLeod was still looking at him. There was something in that gaze that Methos was unable to discern. It worried him. The Highlander was usually an open book. Easy to read and even easier to manipulate. If he wanted to. At least that’s how it used to be.

“I‘m going to bed.” he announced. “We should probably get an early start tomorrow. I‘ll see you in the morning, Mac.” The Highlander just nodded but remained quiet. _Things really had changed._

* * *

The place was packed. It was a rather small venue but still, the band was clearly making headway and it would only be a matter of time before they reached the level of fame that would make them noticeable. The lights went out and a small spotlight had appeared. A girl stood at a piano and started to play. She was good. Adam had to give her that. Her range was incredible. As the drums kicked in, the group of boys suddenly appeared on stage. The crowd was cheering now. But that wasn’t what concerned Adam. What was strange was that the telltale buzz that they would feel if another immortal was present was missing entirely. If they weren’t immortal what were they? 

“So they _are_ holograms?” Duncan sounded annoyed. 

“No,” Adam replied thoughtfully. “The girl just bumped into the bassist. They are real. Not sure how they’re pulling off the appearing out of thin air- illusion. That’s quite impressive.” 

“So they are real? But not immortal? Are you going to tell me that we just wasted our time coming here?” 

“Oh I wouldn’t call it a waste,” Adam shot his friend a huge grin. “After all you got to spend some quality time with me, Mac.” 

“Aren’t I just lucky…” MacLeod rolled his eyes at him and Adam couldn’t help but chuckle. The Highlander’s words carried no malice, just amusement. Despite himself MacLeod had relaxed over the past few days they had been together. Perhaps there was hope for them yet. And with regard to the so-called hologram band, secretly Adam thought that it was far from over. Whoever, _whatever_ these boys were, it was a mystery. One that he intended to solve no matter what. 

* * *

  
  



End file.
